The police took into custody the members of Andhra Pradesh Village Revenue Assistants’ (VRAs) Association when they tried to stage a protest as a part of ‘Chalo Vijayawada’ on August 25 (Friday) despite the denial of police permission for the programme.
The association members reached the Dharna Chowk in good numbers in a bid to stage protest, demanding that the government must address the issues they were facing.
The police took the VRAs and the association leaders including president N. Pedanna, State secretary M. Bala Kasi into custody and shifted them to the nearby police stations.
Mr. Bala Kasi demanded that the government must implement a pay scale for the 22,000 VRAs in the State. The VRAs also wanted the government to continue the old system for promotions and resume the payment of Dearness Allowance (DA).
“The salary of VRAs has not been increased after the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) came to power in 2019. The State government has also stopped paying the DA of ₹300. How can the VRAs run their families with a salary of ₹10,500 a month?” Mr. Bala Kasi asked and pointed out that the Telangana government had regularised the services of all VRAs.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had made tall promises to the VRAs when he was the Leader of Opposition, but none of them had been implemented, he said.
“The VRAs will organise protests across the State and lay siege to the Chief Minister’s camp office very soon,” he added.
